Oregon State designated hitter Trevor Larnach (11) scores the go-ahead run on a one-run single by Adley Rutschman against Cal State Fullerton in the eighth inning of an NCAA men’s College World Series baseball game in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, June 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Trevor Larnach went from hitting three homers as a sophomore at Oregon State to 17 this season as a junior, when the corner outfielder was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. Some of those were of the tape-measure variety.

Along the way the 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-handed hitter posted one of the top average exit velocities in the nation despite a lower launch angle, which helped convince the Twins to take him with the 20th overall selection Monday night in the first round of the amateur draft.

“I’m well aware of that kind of stuff,” Larnach said after agreeing to terms with the Twins. “I know it’s the era of launch angle and exit velocity. I’ve educated myself on it. I’m glad it caught their attention.”

Slot value for the 20th pick was $3.12 million.

Larnach’s average exit velocity this year, according to Twins scouting director Sean Johnson, was higher than the eye-popping figure Double-A Twins slugger Brent Rooker posted at Mississippi State a year ago before they took him 35th overall. This weekend the Beavers slugger will face the University of Minnesota in the super regional.

“He’s a college player who hasn’t hit his stride yet,” Johnson said. “His body has gotten bigger, stronger, but he’s still filling out. His raw power has taken a step forward this spring. He’s performed at a high clip.”

Larnach’s “growth mindset,” Johnson said, combined with the metrics and potential for continued changes to his powerful swing sold the Twins on the first college outfielder they’ve drafted in the first round in nearly half a century.

Their previous college outfielders taken that high were Arizona State’s Paul Powell in 1969 and Alexander Rowell from Luther College in 1968.

“It was a collaborative decision,” Johnson said. “Our scouting department and our R&D group, we kind of came together to sift through a few statistics that gave him some trouble and lined up the visual scouting performances we’d seen and the evaluations and we put it together to make this guy make sense at our pick.”

Larnach, who went unsigned by the San Diego Padres as a 40th-round pick out of high school in Pleasant Hill, Calif., opened eyes this spring by carrying second-ranked Oregon State while star second baseman Nick Madrigal was injured. Madrigal went fourth overall to the Chicago White Sox, and the two friends have already joked about future wars in the American League Central.

Recommended by area scout Kyle Blackwell, Larnach is the Twins’ lowest first-round pick since 2011, when they took North Carolina shortstop Levi Michael 30th overall. Michael reached Triple-A but was released this spring.

The Twins have taken position players in four of the past five years with their top selection.

Larnach, 21, has hit .327 this season with 65 runs batted in over 58 games. He credited an unnamed hitting coach with helping him remake his swing since arriving in Corvallis, Ore., changing everything from his stance to his load and other fine points of hitting.

Their sessions would run into the wee hours, often lasting two or three hours at a time, he said.

“I’ve been working my tail off ever since high school,” Larnach said. “I keep on getting more and more results, but I feel like I can go a lot higher. There’s a lot more mechanical adjustments I can make. I’m not done yet. This is one stage of my life.”

With their second-round pick, the Twins took UNC-Wilmington catcher Ryan Jeffers at No. 59 overall. At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Jeffers has plus raw power despite being ranked 295th among this year’s draft prospects by Baseball America.

Right-hander Zack Littell will make his big-league debut at age 22 during Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, according to a person with direct knowledge. Littell, acquired last season from the New York Yankees in the Jaime Garcia deal, had a 2.57 ERA in five May outings for Triple-A Rochester.

Catcher Cameron Rupp was signed to a minor-league deal and assigned to Rochester after opting out of his Triple-A deal with the Texas Rangers. Rupp, 29, averaged 15 homers the past two seasons in the majors with the Phillies and has thrown out 31 percent of attempted base stealers in the majors.

Kentucky junior pitcher Sean Hjelle, a 2015 Mahtomedi High graduate, was selected 45th overall by San Francisco. Hjelle, a 6-foot-11 right-handed starter, was the 2017 Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year.

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